The 3 Best Live Music Videos From the First-Ever YouTube Music Awards

Did you watch last night's YouTube Music Awards? I was there, and it was NUTS. In a good way, I think. Lady Gaga (our Women of the Year cover star!), Eminem, and Arcade Fire were just some of the big names who created "live music videos" on the scene, Jason Schwartzman and Reggie Watts hosted, Spike Jonze directed, and there were cameos by everyone from Michael Cera to Rashida Jones. Oh, and they did actually hand out awards too. All in all, I thought the show was super entertaining, if a little confusing. Inside the venue, there were three stages in different corners of the room, so my strategy was to stay firmly planted at one of them, rather than running from performance to performance. My plan mostly worked out, and I got to be right up front for a bunch of segments—notably, Gaga's intimate, powerful performance of "Dope," off her upcoming album Artpop. See how the final video turned out:

Arcade Fire opened the show with this Jonze-directed video for "Afterlife," starring Greta Gerwig. I really loved this one—I think it felt the most music-video-y.
[#iframe://www.youtube.com/embed/tBTTd0gfkn0?list=PLbpi6ZahtOH57d6L_q8YzZ0QwZeP_J4Fe](560x315)

The one performance I left my stageside spot for? Eminem. Just after the hosts announced he won Artist of the Year, Em performed "Rap God," and the crowd went insane. Watch here:

Were you impressed with what the YouTube folks were able to pull off? Which performances were your favorite?